Stress, Hypertension and Overload

What exactly is stress? Stress is a reaction to a given situation. It’s the response to a challenge or the body’s way of preparing for a difficult situation with alertness and focus. The events that result to the situation of stress are called “stressors”. These cover an array of situations – from appearing for an examination to making a presentation on a topic you dislike to perilous physical hazards.

Our body’s response to stressors is releasing certain hormones and alerting our nervous system. The hypothalamus (located in the brain) directs the adrenal glands to release the hormones adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones are infused in the bloodstream which increases our heart rate, respiration rate and blood pressure. The body’s metabolism rate is maximized and the blood vessels dilate and more blood is allowed to flow in the blood vessels. Pupils dilate to increase our line of sight. The reservoir of glucose stored in the liver is released and with the increase of blood sugar levels, the body is poised to face the stressor. All these activities within the body are instanteously performed and we are better prepared to handle the situation. This is the natural response of the body.

This body’s response may be to either fight or flight. It is a spontaneous reaction to a given situation where the person instantly decides whether he is going face the situation or runaway from it. In the event of an accident, the driver instantly slams the brakes or looses control altogether. A player decides in the spur of the moment to take a foul shot. These are examples of stress response. It may be of a milder form like the child who gets butterflies in his stomach before performing at the talent contest. Stress can be good as they can keep you at the edge of your seat and make you prepared for exigencies.

What exactly is Hypertension? Hypertension basically means the exertion of greater pressure of the blood in the circulatory system. It is one of the medical conditions in which the blood pressure is chronically elevated. Continuous hypertension is one of the main causes for different diseases linked to heart like Strokes, Heart attacks. Overall studies show that stress is not the direct cause for hypertension but has an effect on its development.

Stress is one of the main reasons for the chronically elevating blood pressure which in turn causes hypertension. Stress also produces large amounts of vasoconstriction hormones that increase blood pressure. Job strain, race, social environment and emotional stress are the leading causes for hypertension. A lot of non-medical treatments have been found to be effective in reducing blood pressure levels. These include meditation, music therapy, and acupressure, in most of the cases the cause of hypertension is unknown and is termed “essential hypertension. A single reason cannot be associated with the blood pressure elevation.

A lot of factors contribute to the elevation of the blood pressure levels in essential hypertension. Stress has become a prevalent part of people’s lives therefore the effect of stress of elevating blood pressure has become of increasing importance. Now day-to-day pressures of virtually endless working hours have contributed to the cause of elevating blood pressure because the endless working hours means a lot of physical and mental stress to the person. He/she might then resort to poor habits like smoking. Lifestyle modification such as regular exercise, Discontinuing smoking and medication such as captopril, enalapril, fosinopril help in the cause of reducing hypertension.

What exactly is Overload? Stress can be positive as it can keep us prepared for exigencies. However, stress can be negative as well. Stress need not always arise from exigencies but may be slow and long term. Ongoing events like a child made to change school despite his unwillingness, or a person having to shifting to a new locality or going through a divorce; such situations invoke a lot of negative stress. When the nervous system is subjected to persistent low level stress like the ones mentioned, it has a detrimental effect on the body which often gives rise to stress related illness like hypertension, depression, insomnia, high blood pressure and so on.

The illness slowly eats away our body and mind and leaves us sans happiness sans mirth and sans the desire to live. Stress overload isn’t good for anyone. For example, getting tensed for a forthcoming test may motivate us to study hard. On the other hand, getting too stressed out would probably make us fail the test and also damage our system. We would not be able to concentrate because we would be overtly consumed by the tension. When pressure is persistent and too intense, they should not be borne alone. Here are some situations that cause stress overload:

1. Exposed to a lot of violence or being subjected to dominance. Problems at school or work relating to inability to learn or cope with pressure.
2. Hectic schedules which have no time for holiday vacation or even short breaks in order to relax.
3. Family problems, relationship turbulence or emotional problems with loved and dear ones.
4. Stress overload can lead to stress disorders which may wreck a person’s life entirely. Under stress overload, the person may be accustomed to panic attacks, irritable nature and may often resort to bad habits.

Noted:

• Aku sgt stress, tension n overload. Kepala so.... pain. Nk nangis dibuatnye. Sgt2 sakit kepalaku.
• Thanks, info from www.stressrelatedillness.com, pic tq to cik google.